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Baseball online COMMENTARY Sports Copy Editor Being a baseball fan, the advent of the Internet has allowed me to keep tabs on a daily basis with what's happening in the major leagues. Over time I have developed a habit of checking out certain writers and certain Web sites.
I find FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, SI.com's Tom Verducci, and ESPN.com's Jayson Stark some of the best baseball writing in the business.
For major league statistics of current players, I like ESPN.com. Quickly I can find stats such as how Joe Mauer fares this year when the count is 0 and 2 (batting .333 if you're interested).
For statistics of players in the minors and how players fared in spring training, TheBaseballCube.com is an invaluable resource. For instance, Mauer batted .362 in 2006 spring training and has a lifetime .332 batting average in the minors.
Regarding box scores, Retrosheet.org is the online leader with a massive database. From Retrosheet, I figured out the first baseball game I ever attended was Sunday, August 16, 1987 when Houston beat Atlanta 6-2 and Astros outfielder Kevin Bass, who became my favorite player, went 3-for-4.
When it comes to historical statistics, the definitive Web site is Baseball-Reference.com. It has data on players and leagues from 1871 to present day. Who can forget that Ned Williamson held the single-season career home record with 27 until Babe Ruth topped him with 29 in 1919? Or Rod Carew was traded from the Twins to the Angels for virtually nothing! It's all there at Baseball-Reference.com.
Sean Forman, who created the Web site, was a graduate student at the University of Iowa when he began creating the site. "I saw some of these big baseball encyclopedias and thought wouldn't it be great if we could get a Web site that had all these stats."
Over time Forman has added new features to the Web site, including a section called Bullpen.
"Last year we added a feature based on Wikipedia software which allows users to add non-statistical information to the site. Users who know something about a player or team have gone in and contributed some information.
"There was a gentleman who was the batboy for the Muncie Reds (during the late 40's). He posted team photographs for the Muncie Reds. Not many people care about the Muncie Reds, but it's kind of cool that there's a place on the Internet you can find information on this team that played sixty years ago."
Forman also has a connection to Brainerd. His uncle taught English in Brainerd 25 years ago. He visited the city as a child and remembers the large Babe the Blue Ox statue at the old Paul Bunyan Land.
Forman's favorite baseball Web sites are MLB.com to follow games, BaseballThinkFactory.org for baseball discussion, Sabernomics.com for its use of economics in baseball, and SABR.org for baseball research.
When it comes to statistics during ball games, I have to stay near my computer and use WalkOffBalk.com. Bottom of the ninth, down by three, bases loaded, two out Ð want to know what are the chances of the home team winning? Just plug in the situation at WalkOffBalk.com's "Win Expectancy Finder" and you'll find out it's about 8.2% based on two and a half decades of baseball situations.
Throughout Twins games, I'm always plugging in the situation to see the possible outcome. Once Cleveland took a two-run lead in the first on Saturday, the Twins came to bat in the second with only a 26.7% chance of winning. Once the Twins were down by six runs in the top of the seventh, their chances of winning were 0.8%. Naturally enough they lost the ball game.
Dan Lewis, who maintains the blog part of WalkOffBalk.com, enjoys when people mention to him they read his columns and use the Win Expectancy Finder.
His favorite Web sites are BaseballProspectus.com, HardBallTimes.com, BaseballThinkFactory.org, and Cot's Baseball Contracts at mlbcontracts.blogspot.com. Cot's Baseball Contracts allows fans to see the details of players' contracts. For example, Twins second baseman Luis Castillo has a club option for $5.75 million in 2007.
And on the subject of the Twins, the one-stop shop for all your team news is AaronGleeman.com. Twins fan and baseball writer Aaron Gleeman keeps Minnesota fans up to date with commentary and links. He does an excellent job on reporting what's happening in the Twins farm system and is always ahead of the curve on who might be called up. He also does a great job in analyzing Ron Gardenhire's managerial decisions.
"What keeps me going is simply being able to write for an audience, which has always been my dream," Gleeman said. "The idea that there are people out there who stop by my site each day in order to read what I have to say is still thrilling to me after four years and over 1,000 columns."
On his favorite Web sites, Gleeman said, "In addition to my site, I also write regularly for Rotoworld.com and HardballTimes.com, so I think very highly of those two places. My other daily stops are ESPN.com, Baseball Think Factory, Baseball Prospectus, and Deadspin.com, plus a slew of other blogs."
Gleeman also has a connection with Brainerd, visiting the area as a kid. "I think we stayed at a place called Kavanaugh's? And then a few years ago I took a golfing vacation with my dad to Cragun's/Madden's.
"I remember the Par 6 being a real doozy, and I lost a sand wedge somewhere along the way."
These Web sites are just the tip of the online baseball world and by no means an exhaustive list. What are your favorite baseball Web sites and baseball writers online? Email me which ones and why. If I get enough responses I'll run a second column on the reader's choices.
TREVOR WILLIAMS, sports copy editor, can be reached at trevor.williams@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5866.
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